Microsoft Word - RecklessBounty (3 page)

“Thanks. I’ll add it to my growing collection. I’ll put it in the anything that doesn’t kill me, makes me stronger box.”

Johanna leaned down and kissed her softly on the forehead.

“Sleep

well.”

Johanna gently pushed a stray lock of light-blond hair off of Samantha’s forehead. Her deep violet eyes fluttered closed. The sleeping tonic and painkillers finally overwhelmed her.

* * * *

sleep

was

frantic and tortured.

She jumped when she heard the sound of a bullet ripping through the stillness of the
night. She was there in the room. There was a man standing over her father’s lifeless body.

Blood was spilling everywhere. The strong cloying scent of jasmine lingered in the air.

She had never been fond of it, and now the smell of it made her feel as if she were suffocating.

She turned when a soft breeze fluttered through the open window.

The man was tall and cast a long shadow across the marble tile. His shoulder length
white hair was pulled back into a severe ponytail. He wore a long silver coat that was inches off
of the floor. His black boots were splattered with blood. He whistled an odd tune as he calmly
placed the gun back into the folds of his coat.

Turn around. Turn around, she willed. Just one glimpse of his face, that’s all she needed.

But he remained impervious to her mental commands, and then stepped away, cloaking himself
in the shadows and disappeared into the night, leaving no psychic imprint for the trackers to
hunt. The trauma of seeing her father murdered, caused her astral form to be sucked back into
her human body. She sat upright in bed, shaking and screaming out for her father… but she
knew he would not answer, he never did. She had failed her family—her powers should have
been able to save him but they had been no match for the psychic assassin sent to take out her
father.

Samantha struggled to let go of the horrific memory that tortured her dreams when from
out of the mists of time and space someone else reached out to her and her sixth sense picked up
on the message.

She heard another familiar male voice call out her name with heightened urgency.

“Samantha, help me!”

“
TYLER!
” Samantha screamed. Her psychic abilities rattled and went on edge. Her eyes popped open and she sat up. For one brief second, she caught the wispy tendrils of a purple mist swirling around her. When she blinked and opened her eyes again, the mist was gone. Reigning in her shattered emotions, she attempted to harness her volatile powers. She wasn’t as strong as her twin Charlotte, but when her powers surfaced they could have startling effects on the world around her. The problem was, they always seemed to surface when she didn’t want them to.

She threw her legs over the side of the bed. Gasping, she felt a painful throb in her shoulder. Groaning, she remembered where she was and what had happened to her. Samantha struggled to control her ragged breathing. Her chest heaved, and she put her hand over her heart, only to feel it pulsing in a staccato rhythm. She had to snap out of it. The psychic echo that RECKLESS BOUNTY Marly Mathews 12

remained from her nightmare and Tyler’s call for help deeply affected her. Where was Tyler right now? How would she know if he was in trouble? He never sent her any sort of correspondence any more… the only person he talked to was his brother, Dylan.

Johanna came rushing into the room followed closely by her husband Dylan. She hurried to Samantha’s bedside.

“It’s alright dearest. Tyler isn’t here. You’re on
The Excalibur
, and we are just now entering
Notting Prime’s
atmosphere. We’ll be at the delivery point soon.” Johanna placed her arms snugly around her and pulled her against her chest.

Dylan stood right behind his wife with his hands shoved into his pockets.

Samantha blinked her eyes. For an instant, she saw Tyler’s face instead of Dylan’s. The two brothers looked remarkably alike and it almost pained her to look at Dylan’s features and know how much they mirrored Tyler’s.

“Tyler…. Have you spoken to him recently, Dylan?”

His curly auburn hair was messed up and his striking blue-green eyes held an honest concern that pained her to her very core.

“Not for ten days, Samantha, though is last message was a bit off. He sounded sad as he always does and yet, I got the sneaky suspicion that he was up to something. I should go and see if I can get a subspace message to him tonight.”

“Do that,” she muttered, turning in Johanna’s arms, and wrapped her arms around her middle. Bringing Johanna close, she tried to block the image of her estranged husband completely from her mind. It wasn’t easy when Dylan was always there, a constant reminder of what could have been. Should
have
been.

Six months ago, Tyler had packed and moved out after a heated argument. They’d hardly ever argued, and when they did, it was always about the same thing. She’d automatically regretted, her harsh words. But by the time she’d realized the error of her ways, it was too late to stop him. He had hated her dangerous lifestyle. Said he couldn’t understand it. And after one extremely close call in which she had narrowly escaped with her life, he’d blown up and had given her an ultimatum.
Give it all up
. The job or him, he couldn’t stand by while she continually put herself in harm’s way. Before she really thought out her reply, how it would affect them, she’d refused and he’d left. She could still remember their angry words, hurtful lashes that cut deep, and wished that she had handled it differently.

The hurt in his eyes still haunted her and made her feel sick inside. Living with the regret ate at her every waking hour.

“You are going to get yourself killed! I can’t stand thinking of that happening. I don’t know what I would do. I can’t take your lifestyle anymore. Dylan might be able to live with the thought of losing Johanna, but I can’t live with the thought of losing you. I love you more than anything in the universe. Can’t you see? Take a risk on us.
Bet on us.
I do. There isn’t a bounty in the known worlds that is worth risking your life. It’s your damnable bounty hunting or
me!
Make your choice, so that I know where I stand!” He had said it in that damnably calm voice of his. Tyler had rarely gotten angry and when he blew it was definitely no laughing matter.

“I can’t.
I can’t!
” she had sobbed. “I can’t leave the hunt. I
need
the hunt. Sometimes it’s the only thing that keeps the nightmares at bay. Keeps me from losing my grip on reality!”

“I

can
keep the nightmares at bay. Our love can overcome anything, if you only give it a chance. Please, Samantha,” he’d said, moving to grasp her much smaller hands beneath his strong and capable ones.

RECKLESS BOUNTY Marly Mathews 13

“I

can’t.”

“You won’t.” he had whispered with a catch in his voice.

“All right, I won’t. There is still a bounty out there that I need to find. My father won’t rest in peace until I bring his killer to justice. It’s a family affair and I won’t bail out on family.”

She’d nearly shouted.

“I’m a part of your family. We’re in this crazy world as a united force. Yet, you’d bail out on me? On us?” Tyler asked, searching her face. With a faint nod, he released her hands, turned on his heels and headed toward the exit doorway of
The Excalibur.

“I have to finish the
job!
” she’d cried.

“And that is more important than me...than what we share?” he paused, glancing back at her. It had hit her then. Though it had taken her a moment to fully register the look in his eyes.

Hope had glimmered in his green orbs. Tyler had still had faith in them. He’d still believed in her. He had believed she would run after him. But she’d been in shock. She’d remained rooted to the spot. With a shake of his head, he’d opened the door and quietly walked out of her life. By the time she’d moved into action, he had disappeared. He had a weird way of doing that. She should have pursued him. But she hadn’t, either out of fear or pride.

There was nothing Samantha hated more than quiet. Quiet only reminded her of how alone she was, how empty her life was without Tyler. In those times of dreadful calm, she could not keep the memories of beloved Tyler at bay, images of what could have been. If only she had been able to let go of the past. She’d had a good man, and she’d let him slip away.

“Samantha, sweetie, he’ll come back,” Johanna whispered.

Dylan met Johanna’s gaze and signaled to her that he was going to leave. Johanna nodded.

“No. He won’t,” she said, stifling a sob. “I didn’t choose him. His heart has been broken and I broke it. How could I have done that to him, Johanna? You and Dylan are so perfect together. You never fight and he always supports you no matter what. I loved Tyler so
much
!

Where could I have gone wrong?”

“The two of you clashed like titans. You were both so stubborn that neither one of you wanted to bend. Dylan compromises with me. And let me tell you I know that he is frightened to death when we go out on a job. But he can’t imagine life without me and he wants to see me happy. He also has faith in our abilities. He knows your little psychic twinges can keep us out of peril. Tyler wanted to protect you all of the time, I think that maybe he couldn’t stand imagining you risking your life when he wasn’t there to control the situations. Be honest with yourself Samantha, you
do
get yourself into some precarious situations,” Johanna pointed out.

“So do you.”

“Yes, dearest, but you stare death right in the face and you always manage to cheat it. I think Tyler feared the
Angel of Death
would someday catch up with you. Last night, I was frightened out of my mind when you didn’t answer me. You also shut off your abilities last night. You are afraid to use them when you need to. You are afraid of becoming a slave to them.”

“I was just hanging around. I guess I should have thought to give you some attention,”

Samantha scoffed.

“Don’t be a smartass,” Johanna reproved. “Think about what you did last night. Don’t you even realize what could have happened to you? The last time I checked you didn’t have a pair of fairy wings.”

“I could have.... Look I’m not Charlotte, but when the situation presents itself, I can call RECKLESS BOUNTY Marly Mathews 14

upon the well of power inside of me. I just repress it. I think it might have kicked into gear before I went splat.”

“You think?” Johanna snorted. “How do you know? You haven’t been trained like Charlotte. And even though she has honed her abilities, she could still be taken by surprise.”

“Well, that’s just it, isn’t it? I push everyone away. Even my twin won’t stick by my side.

Instead, she’s decided to go and become one with who she is, and embrace the inner psychic. A psychic assassin killed dad....” Bitterness tinged her voice.

“And only a psychic hunter can track down that assassin,” Johanna countered. “Charlotte is trying to help us the only way she knows how. She’s doing her best to keep the world around her from falling in and crushing her. And, thanks for the vote of confidence. Even if Charlotte is your twin, I always thought we had a strong bond....”

Hurt briefly creased Johanna’s face. As the oldest sister, Johanna always had looked out for her… Samantha’s reckless and impulsive personality warranted someone to keep a constant eye on her.

Dylan’s voice through the intercom broke their conversation. “Marty wants to know if we have the prizes all wrapped up and ready for delivery.”

“Tell him that we do, love. I’ll be on the bridge in a few minutes,” Johanna replied quickly. She hugged Samantha once more and then released her.

“Hey, don’t forget about me. I’m coming too. Don’t you dare think this is little injury is going to get me down. Wait up!”

Samantha gritted her teeth together and carefully got down from the high med bed. She winced, but quickly replaced her wince with a smile when she noticed her sister’s watchful eye.

“I should put that in a sling,” Johanna mused, staring angrily at her.

“No, no, I’m fine. A sling will only hamper my movements. This is just a little boo-boo I’ll be right as rain by tomorrow. Like I said last night, you’ve done a bang up job on my arm. If it gets sore, I’ll pop some
Earth Certified
non-drowsy painkillers. They’re miracle pills don’t you know,” she said cheerily, quickly hiding her real feelings from her highly perceptive sister.

Tyler’s face and voice still haunted her. Her heart hurt. She
really
missed him. She wanted him back, like yesterday. Why had she heard him call out to her? Was he in trouble?

Her sister Charlotte would have told her to follow the dream as a sign. She knew he wasn’t hurt.

But she was getting worried. If he’d been hurt, she would have felt it wouldn’t she? If not her, then Dylan, would have. If only she could harness her abilities enough to reach out through the abyss of space and find him. His call for help could have just been a figment of her imagination or a result of her nightmare. She wasn’t like Charlotte she couldn’t take every precognitive sign seriously.

“I give up,” Johanna declared, throwing her arms up in the air. “After all of the years I have lived with you I should know better than to argue with you. It never gets me anywhere and besides it only wastes precious energy that I could be spending on attending much more important matters. When you were little you would hurt yourself, and you could have been literally bleeding out of your mouth and you would continue to play seemingly unaffected by your boo-boo. So don’t worry, I am finally growing wise.”